


L-O-V-E: A Short Yarn

by TeazNTisanes



Series: L-O-V-E [1]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Avengers Family, Clint Barton & Natasha Romanov Friendship, Crochet, Darcy Lewis Feels, Darcy Lewis is the fandom bicycle and I love it, Darcy gives all the love, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Natasha Romanov Is Not A Robot, Platonic Love, Protective Bruce Banner, Smart Thor (Marvel), Spysassin Twins, Thor (Marvel) is a Good Bro, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Yarn for Everyone!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-05
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2019-03-27 13:21:14
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 11,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13881711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TeazNTisanes/pseuds/TeazNTisanes
Summary: Darcy feels like none of the Avengers have had enough love in their lives. She knows what it is like to overcome a shitty history that went unacknowledged. She knows how to recognize the expression of past trauma, even when it is well hidden. Especially on the faces of people she has decided to claim as her own. Five times Darcy Lewis loves the Avengers, one time where they love her.





	1. Tony

Darcy recognizes the manic look of SCIENCE! on Tony’s face. That look he gets when he is close to a breakthrough and about to partake in a science bender. This is a look she has learned to recognize from Jane. However, Tony is not exactly like Jane.

His SCIENCE face is not the only expression that precludes holing himself up in his lab for days and nights at a time, refusing to come out. There is another expression. One that he has learned to hide so well that most of the other people in the Tower can’t distinguish it from his SCIENCE face. This one however, includes forced smiles so practiced they almost can’t be distinguished from his normal one. It includes a blankness in his normally mischievous eyes. It involves a tension in the lines of his body like it is preparing to take a blow. 

This look Darcy learned to recognize in her own mirror. 

This look means that Darcy will take care of Tony not as self-appointed scientist herder supreme, but as a friend. Because Tony has gone out of his way to make her feel welcome and at home in his Tower. He did not take credit for it because he insisted he was terrible with people, but Darcy knew what he had done all the same. He could have overlooked her as just an assistant to Jane, and left her to fend for herself in New York. But he saw that she was a sister, not just an assistant, and treated her accordingly. That made him good people in her opinion. And that meant that he was one of her people. 

The first time Darcy noticed the difference between Tony’s normal science benders and the terrible feelings which drove him to the second kind, she watched. 

Darcy watched as Tony pushed himself further and further, refusing to stop to eat or even drink the coffee she left at his elbow. The shadows under his eyes deepened. He smashed his knuckles from sleep-deprived clumsiness in his work until they cracked and bled. He listened to music as loud as Jarvis would accommodate, allowing for the fragility of the human ear drum. Almost loud enough to drown out thought. And finally, when he had begun to sway from exhaustion, he fell on the ratty couch in his workshop and slept for a solid 18 hours. 

Darcy broke out her crochet hook and began with the softest yarn she could find. Every stitch, she thought about how much she appreciated Tony. His protective streak veiled in sharp sarcasm. His affection masked in snark. His strength despite the long history of difficulties he had faced, often without the benefit of support. She poured as much love as she could into the simple, dark grey afghan. It had a comforting weight to it, but wasn’t so heavy as to be oppressive. When she was finished, she carefully folded it and waited. 

The next time Tony went on one of his PTSD fueled science benders, she slipped into the lab. She made sure she was in his line of sight, but didn’t pressure him for conversation. Instead she placed the ugly green smoothie Jarvis assured her would take care of the bulk of his nutritional needs at his elbow. It was joined with the promotional Iron Man water bottle she had bought especially for this purpose. Tony didn’t seem to consciously register her, so she left him alone without speaking. 

She slipped back out of the lab and went back to Jane. Over the next 4, almost 5 days, she checked in on Tony periodically. Each time, he had emptied the water bottle, so she refilled it and brought it back with another smoothie. 

She was typing up Jane’s notes on the lab computer when she heard a soft overhead chime. “Yes J?” she asked. The chime was something they had worked out together so Jarvis could let her know he wanted her attention after the first time his voice had badly startled her. 

“Darcy, Sir has reached the point of exhaustion and is sleeping in his usual place.” His robotic voice was warm, and Darcy was glad she could help. The AI was very attached to his creator, but at times his lack of a corporeal body could render the powerful man helpless. When Darcy had tentatively expressed her desire to him, he had been suspicious of her motives and then overjoyed. Their conversations about how to help Tony had led to a friendship she treasured. 

Darcy gathered up the blanket from where she had stashed it. She took it to Tony’s lab and gently draped it over his sleeping form. She smoothed his filthy hair back from his face and tucked the blanket up over his shoulders.

Tony never spoke to her of what happened during these types of science benders. However, Jarvis mentioned in passing one day that the lab was barred to all but her and Pepper when Tony was in one of his moods. In addition, even though almost everything in Tony’s lab was messy and spattered with grease that he didn’t seem to bother with, the afghan she had made him remained pristine. 

The best part of her intervention was that instead of looking like he had one foot in the grave after his benders, Tony seemed lighter and brighter. It also meant that he dragged her to her first movie night with the Avengers, and she could only grin as he settled into a loveseat with Pepper draping the afghan over both of their laps.


	2. Clint-and-Natasha Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy spreads the love to the spysassin twins who can and should be tackled as a pair.

The next people that Darcy took on as a mission had to be done as a pair. The Black Widow and Hawkeye were like two halves of the same coin. Hawkeye covered his own pain with wisecracks and loud laughter. Widow covered hers in icy silence and intimidation. 

Darcy learned this the first time she woke up early and baked coffee cake for the team several months ago. Her nightmares should end with something good for someone. 

Today, Stark was the first one up and blearily leaned against her shoulder as he put a pot of coffee on, silently lending his support in a way he didn’t have to acknowledge. Jane was the next to come upstairs, as she had been up all night on a bender of her own. She put on a kettle of water and fixed Darcy a caramel black tea. She handed it to her and gave her a shoulder squeeze. Darcy had fallen asleep in the lab, and Jane sent her up to bake after she woke herself with a scream. Jane had learned from long experience that this was the best way to help Darcy. 

The rest of the team came in by ones and twos, led by their noses. Captain Call-Me-Steve America was next, fresh from a shower after his morning run. Then Bruce of the incandescent rage came in and thanked Jane for leaving the kettle on for him.

Hawkeye dropped silently from a vent to land beside her. She jumped and froze as her hands started to shake at the sudden invasion of her private space. Dayyum his arms but also DAMN! his spysassin stealth! Hawkeye appeared not to notice, but he had migrated to the other side of the kitchen to raid the fridge for milk. However she caught the Widow eying her speculatively where she had entered simultaneously to Hawkeye but from the doorway. And wasn’t that a neat trick! Hawkeye and Widow had yet to introduce themselves, and they were around less than the other Avengers. They only seemed to hang around after they had particularly difficult missions. 

This time seemed no different as they both had visible cuts and bruises. Natasha moved toward the bar stools all lithe grace that gave away no hint of soreness of course, and the rest of the Avengers scattered around her. It was almost as if she had an invisible force field that extended about three feet out from her body. 

“Good morning,” Widow offered quietly to Tony on her way past. In the last month or so, she seemed to be making more of an effort to bond with the team, as if they had passed some kind of test. However, this did not seem to be going well. 

His eyes got wide, “Whatever it is I didn’t do it,” he exclaimed brightly, “or at least you’ll never prove it!” He cackled madly and backed away. Widow sat beside Bruce and he subtly shifted away from her, moving so naturally that Darcy didn’t quite know how he did it but he had put a foot of space at least between them. 

Hawkeye wandered over to that side of the counter, Darcy had been painfully aware of his movement around the kitchen, and leaned on Widow’s shoulder. He put her coffee in front of her after taking a small sip where she could see him. Even once the beverage was on the counter, he maintained contact. He leaned at her side while he sipped his own heavily sweetened brew. 

Darcy’s attention was pulled back to the oven by a timer going off, and she busied herself swapping batches and arranging cooling racks. By the time she turned back around, Bruce was gone, Hawkeye and Tony were bantering, Steve was attempting to referee, and her hands were steady. Although she couldn’t pinpoint the exact difference, Widow seemed to have slouched imperceptibly into a more relaxed position as Hawkeye continued to lean on her. Darcy was sick, even in her own mind, of continuously referring to two fellow human beings by code names. 

She leaned against the cool marble countertop in front of the superheroes, sipping her own tea. Jane had of course made it just the way she liked it. Just to amuse herself, and get a little adrenaline buzz from courting danger, she steadily stared at Hawkeye and the Widow. After a few seconds Widow was staring back. Darcy could read nothing in her eyes, but a bit of weariness was apparent around them. She wondered what the Widow could read in hers. Gradually conversation around them puttered to a stop. She noticed that Tony had moved to stand protectively at her shoulder. Hawkeye was looking between the two of them like it was a tennis match. 

“Problem?” Steve asked in his Cap voice. 

“Nope!” she exclaimed cheerily, “I was just hoping someone would remember their manners and introduce me to my two other sometimes Tower-mates. I baked A LOT of scones, and I have a policy about my baked goods. Namely that I don’t share them with strangers.”

“I already ate one,” Hawkeye admitted with a grin, ignoring her indignant squawk. She had been very aware of where he was. There was no way he could’ve snuck one! “But in the interest of a voluntary offer my name’s Clint.” He offered her a calloused hand to shake. He didn’t even have sticky fingers! That was a conundrum to contemplate. The widow had tilted her head consideringly. 

“Natasha.” the Widow offered plainly. Darcy took the gift for what it was and scooped up an orange and a chocolate chip scone to deposit in front of Natasha and Clint respectively. Clint made sure to take a quick nibble from Natasha`s scone and that was that. Darcy's observations seemed to support her thoughts on the spysassin twins, and had thoroughly distracted her from her own nightmare. 

Despite their awkward meeting, Darcy persisted in trying to include Natasha and Clint whenever they were in the Tower. To that end, they were definitely Natasha-and-Clint. Although Clint fit in more easily with the other Avengers, he seemed to hold himself back. His level of engagement was determined entirely by Natasha’s level of engagement as far as she could tell. That meant if she was to help Clint-and-Natasha, she would need to start with Natasha. 

The team unconsciously made a point of respecting Natasha’s formidable skill set either with joking fear or with legitimate avoidance. As Darcy had witnessed at the breakfast where she learned their names, even when the team spoke with Natasha, it was like she had an invisible barrier around her. Other than sparring, the team never touched her. 

The team all had different levels of touchiness. Tony’s depended on how wound up he was and how much sleep he had gotten. However, he was likely to lean, pat a shoulder, or smack a head in mock reprimand. When he was tired he could get clingy to the point of becoming a limpet. Steve was fond of the shoulder clap for encouragement, and was a secret snuggle bug. Whenever he realized someone was a hugger, he would gladly pass them out at every opportunity. She had also caught him casually tangling his feet with whoever he shared couches with, or leaning against the legs of people on the couches if he sat on the floor during movie night. Bruce didn’t touch anyone. However, he was touched most often by Tony, who made a point of slinging a companionable arm around him, nudging, etc. in a show of camaraderie with his Science Bro. Clint was willing to participate in all of the above, but he was the only one who extended his touches to Natasha. 

Natasha was too good at what she did to give anything away with her face or tone, but Darcy had an idea of her history. Given what she had gone through, she must be awfully lonely. As far as Darcy could tell, Natasha had a small circle of support. It had extended to two men-Clint and Agent Ipod Thief. And now Agent Ipod Thief was gone. Although Darcy had no illusions that the Avengers were the only group of extraordinary people around, there certainly wasn’t an abundance of places with this level of power. There were fewer where this level of power was being used towards good ends. The Avengers had to be a rare opportunity for Natasha. This was a group of people for whom Natasha didn’t have to worry for how they could be hurt through association with her. They could protect themselves from harm from her enemies, and they had formidable opponents of their own. This was a group that Natasha could interact with as an equal. 

Here was a chance for Natasha to open up, and they did not seem to want to give her that chance. Darcy wanted to help. However, she was unsure if Natasha would accept help from someone like her. Darcy was not a superhero. She didn’t have a green rage monster ready to jump out and defend her at the hint of a threat. She didn’t have a crazy stockpile of cash or a metal suit. She was not a literal God with a legendary hammer. (She did have a taser that a Man of Iron may or may not have built as an extra powered version of the usual kind. )

Darcy did not want to insult Natasha, and she did not want to be rejected by someone she admired so deeply. Natasha was a kick ass spysassin. She shed her persona as easily as others breathed and wove webs around her enemies that they could not decipher until it was too late. She had looked the God of Lies in the eye and outdone him. Most of all what Darcy admired was that despite what had been done to Natasha, she was nobody's victim. 

She had never seen Natasha intentionally manipulate anyone else in the Tower in a malicious way in the time she had been there. If anything, Natasha existed like a ghost. She occasionally offered bland pleasantries to her teammates. She was fierce and fiery when she sparred. But otherwise, she seemed to sit quietly on the outskirts of any gatherings. 

In the end, Darcy decided to do what she had always done in the face of uncertainty. She would make her best guess, and she would ask. For as much as the Avengers were Earth’s mightiest heroes, none of them had gotten a lot of choice about a lot of things. Enthusiastic consent was important to Darcy, but she had a feeling it was a foreign concept to most of them, especially the spysassins. As empathetic as she was, you could never truly read another person’s mind. She would always rather ask permission to do something for them, and gauge how interested they were in receiving it than just force it on them and hope it was something they wanted. Most people thought of enthusiastic consent as something only related to sex, but she was pretty sure it could and should be applied more broadly. The golden rule was fine, but she lived by the platinum rule: Do unto others as THEY would have you do unto them. What she wanted for herself was not what everyone wanted for themselves, and everyone’s desires about and boundaries for their bodies should be respected. 

Darcy started her plan at the next movie night. The team all had habitual seats at this point. There was a circle of couches and loveseats around the TV in the common area. Pepper and Tony normally shared a loveseat. Thor and Jane normally shared a couch. Bruce normally had a loveseat to himself nearest the kitchen. Darcy and Steve normally traded off sharing the couch with Thor and Jane, leaning against Tony and Pepper’s love seat, or sharing a couch between them if Natasha and Clint were away. Natasha and Clint always shared the couch closest to both the exit and the vent in the common area. 

Darcy made sure that she volunteered to make popcorn so she could fiddle in the kitchen until everyone was seated. Then she wandered in and handed out bowls amidst the typical bickering over what to watch. 

She gave Clint and Natasha a bowl last. “Is it okay if I sit with you guys?” she asked as naturally as she could. Clint was perching on the arm of the couch with his arm along the back of the cough behind Natasha. He stuck his tongue out at Jane who was looking confused. 

“Sure, Darce,” Clint gave her permission. Thor who was beside Jane looked on knowingly. Nobody gave her lightning-bro enough credit. He may not grasp some of their Earth culture or technology, but he wasn’t stupid. Darcy made eye contact with Natasha and waited. 

Natasha shrugged, “sure.” Darcy didn’t want to pressure Natasha, but this was meant to give her a chance at touching, so Darcy sat in the middle. Thor chucked her favorite pillow-pet (the unicorn) to her. She wrapped her arms around it and waited for the lights to dim and the movie to start. Tonight’s choice was apparently The Hobbit. 

“Is it okay if I lean on you?” Darcy whispered to Natasha. She could see the glint of Clint’s eyes watching her with uncharacteristic seriousness from over Natasha’s head. A slight furrowing between Natasha’s eyes was the only indication Darcy got of Natasha’s astonishment. Darcy waited carefully for her to think it over. This was the moment where Natasha could lash out if she really was someone who did not like to be touched. 

“You have that whole side of the couch,” Natasha pointed out drily. 

“Yes, but you guys are both over here, and I like a side of cuddles with my popcorn and a movie,” Darcy said truthfully. Natasha snorted in what could have been derision or disbelief that someone would use the word cuddle to the face of the fearsome Black Widow. Darcy let the silence hang between them awkwardly for a moment. 

“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but I am the renowned Champion of the Cuddles,” Darcy cajoled. Natasha looked at Clint and they had one of their wordless conversations that involved minute facial twitches and probably a smattering of telepathy. Then she did the spysassin version of a magic trick. Contemplating the logistics made Darcy’s head hurt at the same level as Jane’s longer equations did, but Natasha produced 3 knives of varying sizes and a not tiny gun from the right side of her person. She then made them disappear distributing them evenly between her left side and Clint. She was wearing pajama bottoms and a long sleeve shirt. She had no visible pockets. Well at least Darcy wouldn’t accidentally stick herself on anything if Natasha gave her permission to lean. Natasha looked back at her and gave her a short nod. Well okay, that was apparently what that was about. 

Natasha was sitting with her left leg curled under herself and her right leg flat on the floor. Her left arm was tucked beside Clint’s thigh and her right was resting along her lap. There was not exactly an easy route to cuddle her. Darcy would not be daunted however, so she swung her legs up onto the couch and scooted backwards until she was leaning into Natasha’s side and she could slouch down to lean her head on her shoulder. Natasha was a little extra warm, kind of like Steve but not as much of a space heater as Thor. Darcy sighed and hugged Doctor Hermione to her. She quietly settled in and focused on the movie. The longer she sat against Natasha, the less Natasha felt like living stone. 

When Darcy had first leaned up against her, Natasha stayed so still she could have been part of the furniture but for her heat and heartbeat. Darcy could feel Clint’s fingers faintly above her head rubbing small circles into Natasha’s shoulder. When it seemed clear that Darcy was not going to budge over, Natasha seemed to sink into the couch more and her limbs went softer. Darcy tried to keep herself focused on the movie, but she was always cold. As typically happened when she and Steve sat together, the body heat radiating against her made her sleepier and sleepier. 

When Darcy blinked her eyes open, she was laying on her side with her head cradled on Natasha’s thigh. Her elbow was resting on Herm and her hand was tucked under her cheek. Her feet were wedged under someone’s (she would bet the resident Hawk’s) thighs. Natasha was gently running her fingers through Darcy’s hair. Not wanting to ruin her progress, but also knowing there was no way the spysassins didn’t know she was awake, Darcy simply closed her eyes again and enjoyed the petting. 

Darcy must have dozed off again, because when she next opened her eyes the TV was off and the common room was dimmer. Darcy`s head was on Doctor H. And someone had covered her with a fleece blanket. Jane and Thor were snuggled together on a couch and Jane was lightly snoring into Thor’s bicep but otherwise the room had emptied. Darcy gave herself a mental pat on the back and wandered back to her apartment to contemplate her next step. It turned out that her next steps were not that hard, just awkward. Darcy was a pretty tactile person to begin with, even if she didn’t show it often. 

The awkward part was making sure she always asked for permission. Unfortunately, in her opinion, they lived in a culture where it was assumed people had certain rights for touching people, even more so if you were a woman. For example, since a hug was a “good” touch, most people thought it was ok to hug anyone anytime and the receiver of the hug should be happy to get one. This was not true for everyone. Although explicit consent might not be necessary for someone you had more experience with, even then it was important to pay attention to body language and other cues.

Darcy did not want to call attention to her quest with Natasha, so she tried to only approach her when they were on their own or when no one else was paying attention. This had an unintended result on Natasha`s interpretation of her behavior. 

One morning Darcy was in the kitchen early because Jane had been up all night chasing the mysteries of the universe. Natasha was sitting on a loveseat in the common area quietly reading something that was probably written in Russian. Darcy fixed herself a lavender vanilla tea and wandered over. 

“Can I sit with you like we did for movie night?” Darcy asked. Natasha didn't look up from her book but made a welcoming gesture. Darcy flopped down and gratefully leaned into Natasha`s shoulder while she sipped her tea. When she hit the bottom of her cup she clambered to her feet and slumped to the kitchen to put her mug away. “Thanks, Red!” was her parting shot to Natasha. 

“Does that make Clint my Woodsman?” Natasha shot back with what could have been a sly smirk,”He does enjoy his medieval weapons. “

That night Darcy was back in the lab, tiredly transcribing notes while Jane manically ran around muttering and tinkering. Her exhaustion was the only reason she didn't jump higher than she did when a wrapped brownie from her favorite coffee shop landed on her desk. “J?” she asked tentatively. 

“I believe that is a gift from Mr. Barton, Ms. Darcy, “ Jarvis told her. 

Understanding, Darcy looked up towards the nearest vent grinned, “Thanks, Hawk dude!” She got no response but happily unwrapped her treat to munch on while she worked. 

Darcy gradually increased her repertoire from cuddles in the common space to also include hugs in the hallways. She always made sure to ask first. 

Then came the day Clint was sent off on a mission without Natasha. Darcy was in the kitchen fixing herself and Jane some of Tony`s jet engine fuel coffee. They had been awake for two nights in a row and Jane had promised her no more than one more night even if they still hadn't made the progress she was hoping for. 

Natasha materialized at the end of the kitchen counter. Her face was dangerously blank but her eyes were intense. This was more Widow than Natasha. 

“Are you trying to seduce me, “ Natasha asked lowly. 

“ Whoa whoa whoa, lady, while I feel like that would be mind blowing, not what I was going for. At all,” Darcy blurted, “I hope that doesn't insult you though. “

“What is it that you want from me?” Natasha was still not appeased. Darcy felt like she had stumbled into dangerous territory but was not especially surprised. She actually wasn't really sure how to answer. 

“I would like to be your friend,” Darcy went with what seemed like the simplest response. 

“Why do you always ask before you touch me?” and now Natasha certainly looked frustrated. 

“I never want to touch someone in a way that would make them uncomfortable, especially when it comes to my friends. I wasn't sure what kind of touching you like and if there are things that would make you uncomfortable so I asked. None of the other members of the super secret not quite boy band touch you, so I wasn't sure if you were a touchy person or not,” Darcy was pretty sure that was the longest conversation she had ever had with Natasha. 

“I would prefer you stop asking and I will say so if I don't want touched. Can I give you a hug?” Darcy discovered that Natasha hugs were a revelation. Her arms were just the right amount of firmly supportive and reassuring. Her front was soft and her shoulder was just the right height for Darcy`s head. 

“Damnit woman, do I have to give up my Champion Cuddler title to you?” Darcy grumbled. Natasha looked pleased with herself and when Darcy turned around from fixing her coffee the redhead was gone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments on the last chapter were something of a draw between Natasha and Bruce. I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter! Rather than have you wait for an update, I decided to post this section in two parts. Let me know how you think Clint should respond when he comes back from his mission!


	3. Clint-and-Natasha Part 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The fluffiest of fluff. Reviews feed my muse!

Natasha and Clint were like yin and yang. They were two parts of the same whole. One was light in the way the other was dark. Yet they both had light and dark pieces that complimented each other. This was why Darcy called them spysassin twins in her own mind. The day she let that slip they had both been delighted in characteristically complimentary ways. 

Natasha had used her ninja mindreading powers and known that Darcy wanted to make both of them something. Darcy walked into her apartment and a beanie pattern sitting under a plastic Black Widow on her end table counter. At the top of the printout a sneaky someone had stuck a Post It with a golden retriever background with 3/12 written in small precise handwriting. 

"3/12?" she texted Natasha. The spider was a giveaway as to who had left the pattern but otherwise she was clueless. 

"The day Clint should be back from his mission. Look at your hooks. " her phone buzzed with the reply. 

She wandered into her craft room and found two balls of yarn that had already been rolled sitting on the end table next to her crochet hook. 

Darcy had a cozy nook set up just for crocheting in the corner of her craft room. An overstuffed leather armchair was paired with an end table where she had all her supplies (including her crochet hooks) tucked away. The yarn was soft and the perfect thickness for beanies. One ball was dappled cream and a red that perfectly matched Natasha`s hair. The second seemed by touch to be the same material as the first, but was the same shade of blue as Clint`s eyes. Apparently Natasha knew that Darcy wanted to make something for the spysassin twins but had been stumped as to what. She had a feeling Natasha was also testing her. She wanted to see if Darcy would be scared away. 

Natasha was giving her an opportunity. She was showing her the full scope of her terrifying brilliance, letting Darcy know that she could get to her at any time and do things people didn`t have the creativity to have nightmares about at any time. She was saying she valued Darcy enough to trust her with Clint. And she was also showing Darcy that Natasha. Black Widow. SAW. Darcy. She knew that Darcy`s superpower was to love and that Darcy would be able to comprehend all of this. 

Darcy did the only thing she could do. She sat down and crocheted a hat for the Black Widow then and there. Then she crocheted one for Clint. She texted the Widow when she was done and waited. Twenty minutes later the Widow showed up at her door. Nevermind the fact that it was 2 AM. 

The Widow showed up in her pajamas and followed Darcy into her craft room. Darcy handed her the beanie. Natasha handed Darcy a near identical beanie but in a soft purple matching yarn. Darcy grinned softly. She was absolutely exhausted but her heart was full. That night Darcy slept sounder than she had in a long time stretched full length against Natasha in her bed, both women wearing their matching beanies. 

Natasha of course had a plan for when Clint would return from his mission. The mission was apparently a harrowing one, and Darcy as the S in Clintasha`s yin and yang was given the privilege of helping care for Clint when he returned. 

Clint stumbled into his apartment bloody and bruised. Natasha was waiting with a first aid kit. She sat on the toilet while he took a fast shower. She held him steady while he dried off.  
It wasn`t until Tash was cleaning a split in his eyebrow that his eyes focused and he noticed the hat hiding her curls. "That`s new, " Clint mused. 

"Darcy made it, " she told him with a shivering quaver in her voice. Her green eyes focused determinedly on the stitches she was putting in his eyebrow. Clint reached out and swept a hand up and down the outside of her leg reassuringly. When she was done she gently popped his hearing aids out. She set them aside to be cleaned in the morning. Then she scooped up the hat Darcy had made Clint and settled it on his own head placing her habitual kisses over each each earlobe. 

Darcy was asleep in what Natasha had referred to as "the nest." She woke briefly when Clint and Natasha joined her. Natasha settled above them to keep watch. Darcy snuggled up with her head on Natasha`s thigh. Clint wrapped around her like a barnacle. "My spysassin twins," Darcy mumbled in contentment. Clint snorted and shook helplessly in hysterical laughter. Natasha leaned down and kissed her on the lips. If Darcy were a witch, this moment would become her Patronus memory. As it was, it went a long way towards soothing her nightmares. But all she did was grumble good naturedly and snuggle back into Hawkeye`s muscular chest and go back to sleep.


	4. Steve (Dances)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Who else is mad at Marvel for not resolving Steve's dance with Peggy in some way? 
> 
> Steve learns to dance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know post-Civil War this fandom tends to split into Team Tony and Team Cap. So I have a feeling a lot of yall following this are Team Tony since the first chapter was very hurt/comfort Tony and Darcy. I personally can sympathize with both sides, so this fic doesn't take sides. Can we do a sound off? Who is Team Tony, who is Team Cap, and is there anyone else who feels like they can see both sides and the division is killing them? Let me know in the comments!
> 
> Also, I hear you folks who are still waiting on the Bruce/Hulk chapter, but I kinda already have a plan for him and it just isn't time yet! Eep! Don't hate me!

          Darcy learned about the dance Steve was supposed to have with Peggy one night when Steve and Darcy were both suffering from insomnia and bumped into each other in the common area. Jarvis was playing music from Darcy's "Happy Feel Better" playlist. Darcy had an eclectic taste in music, so the playlist jumped all over as far as genre went. There was pop, rap, swing, folk, a little country, rock, and a few other things. The common thread was that all the songs made Darcy feel happy, comforted, generally better. Some she liked to sing along to. Some she liked to dance to. Some she liked to do both. 

          This particular night, Darcy was jamming out and making banana muffins. Her hair was frizzing out of a messy bun and she had on a unicorn onesie and her purple beanie from Nat. Banana muffins were a thing of beauty in her opinion. She was making a few batches of plain, some with cherries, some with chocolate chips, some with both, and she was contemplating making a drizzle as an optional topping for some of the plain batches. She was just about shouting along to one of her favorite Mumford and Sons songs when she realized she had company. 

          Steve had seated himself at one of the counter stools. He was wearing a navy thermal shirt and plaid pajama bottoms and his hair was damp from a shower. If she had to guess, she would bet he'd been trying to outrun his insomnia and had just gotten back only to find it waiting for him in his bed. He was watching her wistfully. She continued singing and working on her current batch. However, once she got it in the oven, she started a pot of milk on the stove  to fix them both some cocoa. She asked Jarvis to lower the volume on her tunes and plopped a mug in front of Steve while she sipped from her own. 

          They both sipped their cocoa and Steve told her in a quiet, sad tone about his days with the Howling Commandos. He talked the most about Bucky and Peggy. She put him on cherry chopping duty when he finished his cocoa and just listened. Steve might chronologically be in his nineties, but she didn't really count the time he had been frozen. To him, it had only been a short time since he was in the midst of his fellow soldiers in World War II. He had lost some to war, the rest of everyone he had ever known he had lost in the blink of an eye for him but to a lifetime's worth of time for them. 

          Steve had been just starting to try to move on without Bucky, his best friend and better half, when he crashed the plane. Bucky was outgoing and good with "the dames." Steve had always admired his confidence. He had been trying to picture what his life looked like without Bucky. He had wanted to embody the best parts of Bucky so that Bucky could live on in him. Steve didn't know how to dance or charm people to put a smile on their faces, but he wanted to learn to honor his friend's memory. He didn't know what that looked like in this day and age, but he was thinking it probably looked a lot like what Darcy was doing in the kitchen. In fact, he was pretty sure it looked a lot like what Darcy did on a daily basis. She took care of the Avengers the same way Bucky had always taken care of him. She tried to support the people who were so busy trying to save everyone else, that they sometimes forgot how to save themselves. 

          This is the picture Steve painted for Darcy at 3 AM, baking muffins in the Avengers communal kitchen. Darcy was sniffling by the time he was done, but trying not to show how much Steve's description of her touched her heart. She even let him eat some of her muffins straight from the pan without yelling at him to let them cool first. When Steve asked Darcy to teach him to dance, she could not refuse. He was like a big, sad golden retriever but with blue eyes. 

          The problem was, dance could mean a lot of things. Darcy pointed this out to Steve and asked if he had a preference. Steve, bless his giant dorky heart, told her he liked the informal way she had been dancing before. Darcy soon learned that Steve was only familiar with the music he had been exposed to in movies during movie nights, and whatever the others had been listening to. Friday nights became their lesson night whenever they were both in the tower. Darcy started by giving Steve a playlist of some of her favorites in each genre to listen to during the week. Then they would talk about how he felt about each playlist and she might point him in the direction of similar songs to what he liked or certain artists. Once they had narrowed down what Steve liked, Darcy and Jarvis made him his own Happy Playlist. A third playlist was made that combined both of their happy songs for their Friday night lessons. Darcy started by working on Steve's rhythm with simple things like rocking, tapping his foot, or drumming his fingers while he helped her bake.

          Then Darcy worked on finding where Steve most felt the rhythm. He was definitely lost when it came to what he should be doing with his arms. He would either flail them awkwardly or over-correct and move them too stiffly. Darcy almost wet herself when she caught him doing robot arms one day, which led her to discover he had been watching Youtube dance videos during the week. Steve seemed to most feel his rhythm in his hips, swaying and bopping alongside Darcy at the counter. 

          Next, Darcy taught him some different ways of dancing with a partner. They giggled their way through twirls and swayed together while she baked brownies one Friday. 

          Darcy broached the topic of swing dancing, and while it made Steve nostalgic and a little sad, he still wanted to learn. Darcy wasn't an expert, but she could teach him some basic steps. Steve took it upon himself to learn some fancier moves from Youtube which he then taught to her.

          Finally, Darcy proposed that they take their show on the road. Or, in other words, that they start going out dancing on Friday nights. Steve was nervous but excited, and that is how Fridays became their night to go out to various clubs that one or the other found. Sometimes they went to little places with great live music, and they would make their own dance floor between tables. Sometimes, they dressed in their vintage best and went out to swing clubs were they picked up fancier moves than Youtube could teach them. Sometimes, they went to dark, sweaty clubs with flashing lights and let the press of like-minded bodies and pounding music erase any stressful thoughts. 

          The more music and dancing that Steve familiarized himself with, the more comfortable he seemed in his own skin. His sleep improved so gradually, he wasn't sure when he went from counting the rare nights that he slept well to counting the rare nights that nightmares chased him from his rooms. 

          Darcy had a hard time deciding what she wanted to crochet for Steve. His super soldier serum kept him running hot, so he rarely bothered with anything cozy for warmth. However, she was browsing Pinterest late one night when she found the perfect gift. She crocheted him a throw pillow in the shape of a music note, and added a jaunty crocheted bow tie in the same color as the one Steve liked to wear when they went swing dancing. Steve thanked her profusely, and sent her a bouquet of daisies in the same red as the bow tie the next day. 

          

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Side note for those familiar with trauma, dancing involves bi-lateral stimulation and is one of many good tactics for working out trauma stored in the body!


	5. Thor

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thunder sibs fluff! Also, some hints at what Darcy has nightmares about.

          Darcy and Thor had a different relationship than Darcy had with any of the other Avengers. When Thor called Darcy his lightning sister, it was not a pet name. Darcy herself had not realized this until one long, dark night after the dark elves invaded. Darcy had been crying her way through baking brownies in the small kitchen of the pint sized apartment she and Jane had been sharing in London. There was one bedroom and Jane and Thor had been loudly celebrating their victory for several hours. This was not why Darcy was crying. She had an iPod and an appreciation for healthy sex lives. She was happy her two friends were together again and happy. 

          Darcy was crying for another reason entirely. After the attack was over and the clean-up started, that's when the phone calls started going out. Jane called her parents, and several concerned good friends. Erik called some siblings and an aunt whose crazy made his pants-less days look tame. Even Ian had a list of folks he needed to call. Darcy had fiddled with her phone to distract herself, but she knew that she had nobody to call. Her parents had died a long time ago. Sure, she had had several (many) foster families. But she would NEVER consider any of those people family. Other than Jane, there was no one in this world who would worry about her well being.

          Darcy floated along without attachment. In some ways, this was freeing. She had no one to ask permission of or notify when she was moving. She had no expectations but her own to live up to. She didn't have to worry about the hurt of negative judgments from people whose opinions she valued. However, this meant that if she had died during the dark elf invasion, Jane and Erik were the only people who would mourn her. And if they had died too, there would have been no one to claim her body.

          If a tree falls in a forest and there is no one there to hear it, does it make a sound? Darcy had studied Political Science, and was fascinated by history. The stories and legacies other people left behind. If she died, and there was no one to remember and miss her, did her life mean anything at all? Darcy felt like she had so much love to give, and no one to give it to. Pretty much every time she had tried, she had gotten burned. 

          These were the thoughts preoccupying Darcy on that dark night in London, and she was shocked when she was lifted up into muscular arms and given what could only be described as a bear hug. Although a bear's strength might not stand up to the comparison. Too bad Vikings were only described as bears when in a berserker rage, she bet they gave great hugs too. Thor picked her up and plopped her on the couch. He then proceeded to roll her into a cozy blanket burrito. His kind eyes were her undoing, and she started to sob and shake. Thor gave her a pat on the head and proceeded to fix them both a strong cup of tea. (Her lightning bro was a huge troll. He had picked up modern electronics quickly, and was competent at using most kitchen appliances. He just enjoyed getting his teammates to laugh when he acted like he couldn't figure out the toaster.)

          After fixing them both some tea, Thor had sat and put an arm around her shoulders. Darcy had wiped her face and sipped her tea. When she had calmed herself, Thor had asked her what was troubling her. She found herself pouring her heart out to him. She had explained that she was an orphan. She spoke of the many foster homes and how her hope to find a new family had slowly been crushed. She told him of the trust broken by starvation, cruelty, the physical, and occasionally sexual abuse she had suffered at the hands of adult strangers and even sometimes the other kids in the system. Tiny bolts of what was too visible to be static electricity occasionally flitted through Thor's hair at the harder details of her story to hear, but he had remained quiet and supportive throughout. 

          When she was finished, Thor had finally spoken, "Lady Darcy, I vow to thee, if you were to fall in battle I would claim the next of kin rights. You are my Lightning Sister and would be accorded all the rights of a true shield maiden." He had gone on to explain that in a family of gods belonging to a pantheon that rewarded prowess in battle most highly, being felled was no light matter. There were only two solutions. Thor could kill whichever opponent had bested him at the earliest opportunity, or die valiantly in the effort. The second option was the origin of the saying "The best way to destroy an enemy is to make of him a friend." Thor could choose to acknowledge the person to defeat him as his beloved equal, a worthy ally, a friend of the throne prince in battle. The best way of stating this in the modern English of Midgard was family. In some ways in Thor's culture, a fellow warrior was in fact closer than family that a warrior did not share battle with. Thor called her Lady Darcy, but to the subjects of Frigga and Odin, she would be Princess Darcy. 

          "This is not a title that I give lightly, Darcy. I consider you as much a sister as if you had been whelped by my own mother and had learned battle at my side," Thor had informed her, "Never doubt my care. There will be responsibilities expected of you as well, and matters to sort out in Asgard as soon as we can manage. An official acknowledgement of your position and an introduction to your subjects. You will meet my other comrades the valiant Warriors Three and formidable Lady Sif. For the time being, know that if you are to fall in battle, I myself will guide you to Valhalla or the appropriate after-life." 

         Darcy had been understandably shocked, but also touched that Thor cared for her so deeply. She had cried into his shoulder for a few moments before falling asleep, exhausted from her high emotions of the day. When she woke, she was tucked into bed beside Jane with Thor on Jane's other side. Jane was drooling on her shoulder, and Thor's muscular arm was tossed over both their waists. 

         Darcy had been worried about how Jane would take things, but Jane's mind had never really grasped the social conventions of their culture. It was much more concerned with the laws and guiding principles of science than it was with the fleeting expectations of society. Jane had listened to her and succinctly informed her that she trusted both Darcy and Thor. She loved Darcy like a sister, and she and Thor were betrothed. Jane knew that neither Thor nor Darcy would ever betray her trust, and she was happy that she didn't have to give up Darcy during any time that she had to spend on Asgard as Darcy now had equal right to passage there. As far as Jane was concerned, she had equal if not more right than Thor to claim Darcy as a sister. 

         A side benefit of both of these conversations was that Darcy had a chance to consult Thor about the mechanics of his godhood. Jane had hypothesized that earlier humans had interpreted his being an alien as being a god due to his abilities. Darcy learned that things were not quite so clear-cut as that. For instance, Thor heard the prayers of those who still followed the Old Ways and prayed to the god of thunder. 

         Darcy had thought prayer would be a nice way to communicate with her brother when they were separated, but she hadn't given much thought to other practical implications until later. Thor had been devastated by his brother Loki's continued vitriolic hatred. He told her they had long been rivals, but that their rivalry was amicable, and only the goodnatured kind that most siblings shared. It had only been with Thor's banishment and Loki's discovery that he was adopted that the rivalry had grown fraught. Still, as she knew, Thor was a loyal sibling and loved despite any flaws or disagreements. Thus, it was difficult for Thor to hear his teammates in the Avengers disparage his brother. Ironically, Clint was one of the few Avengers to not say anything about Loki. In fact, he tended to make himself scarce when the Trickster god was mentioned. Out of all the Avengers, Thor probably could have handled Clint's criticism best since Clint had been abused horrifically by Loki's mind control. Listening to Tony run his mouth and Steve agree (figures this would be something the two could agree on) was hard on Darcy's lightning bro. He was wise, and typically tried to deflect. But he would seem sadder and less energetic for the rest of the day. 

        The solution occurred to Darcy one day when Tony was hypothesizing about the compensation Loki might be attempting sub-consciously with his horned helmet. Darcy was pretty sure Tony did not have room to talk with his giant penis tower monument to his own greatness, but she could see Thor struggling with whether he should defend his brother, let it go, or again deflect. 

         _Thor, God of Thunder, your might is only matched by your sense of justice and fairness. May you help me fell my enemies swiftly with great might._

Darcy had been reading up on typical prayer conventions of Thor's followers and decided to try them out. She saw Thor's lips twitch as he stifled a grin. She was definitely broadcasting her prayer well. He had told her the speed and volume could be affected by distance, so apparently ten feet meant no lag in the uploading of her prayer and he could hear her fine. 

         _I have been troubled lately by several enemies. Some gremlin insists on ensuring the sink and counters are always filthy, preventing my_   _speedy baking. And a thought confusing spirit has been attacking my comrades. They seem unable to appreciate my powerful puns and witticisms. I would doubt my own ability, yet I know I have your favor and you have the superior sense of humor and wit._

Thor let a noise that sounded suspiciously like a chuckle. They had both thoroughly tuned out Steve and Tony. 

         _However, these are minor matters. I have been contemplating my role as shield maiden companion to you, mighty Thunder God. I do not wish to dishonor my title, yet I am woefully under-prepared for great battle. If you would lower yourself to the humble role of instructor, I had aspirations to train under your wise auspices._

Thor was looking thoughtful. She was pretty sure he was thoroughly distracted. Although Natasha had offered to train her, as had Clint, Darcy found running to be an evil only those who were crazy or hated themselves endured. She considered lifting gallons of icecream to be her upper body strength training. She enjoyed her curves, and had no interest in building muscles. Yet, Darcy knew the dangers of creating the kind of family she seemed to have made herself a part of. She knew with even as protective and vigilant as they were, there would be times when she would need to fend for herself. Plus, she just did not want to be the weak link. Eventually, she might consider reaching out to her other badass charges for further training, but Darcy thought it right and respectful that she reach out to her lightning bro first. He had been the first Avenger to claim her as family. He had been the first to see her as someone worth knowing, caring for, and protecting. Hell, he had elevated her to royalty because he respected her and cared for her. 

        Darcy also thought that training her might help to soothe some of Thor's loneliness. He had not often been separated from his comrades in arms: Loki, Sif, and the Warriors Three. He had told her many stories of their battle adventures and also the hijinks they got up to while they trained together between battles. Although Thor had been bonding with the other Avengers, it was not the same as training with one of his fellow Aesir. She may not be Aesir, but she, like Loki, was adopted Aesir and that was the next best thing. 

        Thor started Darcy with a sword. She wasn't sure where it came from, but it was perfectly balanced, slim but strong, and its craftsmanship was absolutely gorgeous. It had elegant script-like designs along the blade, Celtic knots studded with rubies in the hilt, and fit her hand perfectly. Thor practiced with a similar blade that was more proportional to his size, and had sapphires instead of rubies. Thor insisted that Darcy learn to use the sword well before it was left in her care, and this was motivation enough for her to apply herself to her lessons. 

        Thor never forced dire scenarios on her, he didn't belittle her, and he did not harm her beyond a few bruises and some small cuts. He was tirelessly encouraging and distracted her from her fatigued muscles by telling her jokes and funny stories while they trained. Her arms gradually got stronger until she could spar with Thor for the full hour of her practices instead of short minute long increments. The day she blocked all of his attempts to slice her or knock her blade from her hand, Thor gifted her a sword belt and scabbard. She beamed. 

        "Thank you, Lady Darcy, for attending the needs of my heart even when I know not how to address them myself. Truly, your companionship is worth more to me than any gold or battle victory," Thor told her seriously, "Please accept this weapon from my own armory. May the blade always be sharp as your own wit, and may it drink down all the blood of those who would wish you harm." Darcy was touched and threw her arms around Thor to give him a big sweaty hug. 


	6. And the Time the Avengers Took Care of Darcy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Darcy gets triggered, who will take care of her?

Darcy wasn't sure what had started things. There were some things that she knew would set off a bad reaction of nightmares, insomnia, shaking hands, nausea, and headaches. For instance, she hated puddles. As a child, she had admired their window-like quality. They were charming reflections of the sky, her face, a tree branch. Now still, reflective puddles reminded Darcy too much of portals. She was careful not to look down into them after a rainy day.

Darcy could still enjoy rain, her favorite weather. She just tipped her head back and watched the tiny drops falling onto her face. Since her bonding with Thor, she also loved thunder and lightning. She thought of thunder with the fondness she had for Thor's booming laugh and lightning like his protective streak. Darcy just did not look down. She was resilient and she had learned to cope with what triggers she had identified. The problem was, there were just some times when she couldn't anticipate a trigger before it happened.

When Thor needed to go off world for a mission assigned by the All-Father, he wanted someone else to continue her training. Since he was aware of her history, he knew she wasn't ready for Natasha and Clint's style of training just yet. Instead he talked to Steve about working with Darcy for a few weeks. Darcy liked and mostly trusted Steve. They were familiar with each other's bodies in only the way long standing dance partners could be. It still wasn't the same as with Thor. Thor was her brother, a bond she felt in her bones, and she (literally pretty much) worshiped him. Steve was also muscular and significantly larger than her. This wasn't a problem for the first week or so of their training.

Steve was not familiar with swords, so he had offered to start working on her hand to hand skills. For the first week, they worked on form. Darcy already had a fair grasp of the balance of her stance from her work with Thor. This meant it didn't take her long to find a stance that worked for her for this type of fighting. After that, Steve worked on teaching her the mechanics of a few types of punches. Then they worked on stringing them together into combinations. Both of these were done using a variety of punching bags. Steve wasn't as fun to train with as Thor, but he still joked with her and encouraged her. Darcy also made good use of their joint playlist through Jarvis, making sure it was pumped through the speakers of the gym from start to finish. The trouble came when Steve got a glint in his eye the second week.

"Whaddaya say to a go in the ring, Darce? Want to dance?" Steve cocked an eyebrow her way where she was panting beside the heavy bag. They were nearly to the end of the lesson. She eyed the traditional ring in the center of Steve's preferred gym. It had a springy floor and red ropes around the edges.

"Why not," she yelled to him, wandering over for a slurp from her water bottle. She strapped her gloves back on and headed into the ring where Steve already had punching mitts on. She swung between the top two ropes and lined up with Steve in her stance. He talked her through the correct way to shift her feet for this kind of fighting. It was kind of like dancing and they quickly found a rhythm between the two of them. Then Steve had her start with the basic 1-2-3 or left, right, hook pattern that he had drilled her on the most. The moves were already starting to feel familiar and Darcy enjoyed the sharp pops of a good hit when she caught the mitts with a solid punch. However, her comfort with the new drill was apparently what Steve was looking for. Suddenly he went from unassuming to looming. He took up all the space that his tall, muscular frame would allow and started stepping with purpose.

Pretty immediately, Darcy recognized that Steve was herding her into a corner as a test of her skills. She knew Steve was her friend and he would never actually hurt her. Darcy's body was another matter. It remembered all the times she'd been backed into a corner before and how that had ended for her. It recognized Steve's body language and adrenaline started pumping through her veins. She could feel her heart racing and her palms starting to sweat. She fought to keep her panic off her face, and she must have succeeded. Steve continued as he was for another three sets before complimenting her and clapping her on the shoulder. Darcy managed to flinch only minutely. Clint, Natasha, or Thor would have caught the flinch. Steve, bless his heart, was chattering on about which location they'd be hitting up Friday. Darcy choked back the half formed thought aimed at Thor. She didn't want to distract him for something so minor when he could be in the middle of battle.

Darcy kept herself together through her cool down routine with Steve. She walked into the women's locker room afterwards long enough to gather her clothes. She then counted to sixty to give Steve and his super soldier hearing time to climb in the shower. Then she booked for her apartment, shaking and sweating but somehow cold. She locked her door. "Jarvis," she breathed quietly, "I'm not doing so great dude. Play my Chill Out List? Loud as you can. And for the time being, divert anybody from coming into my quarters. I need some breathing space." Her playlist clicked on softly as soon as she finished.

"Anything else I can do to assist you, Darcy?" Jarvis asked her, sounding worried.

"I'll let you know, J," Darcy told him.

The AI cranked the volume when their conversation was over. Darcy let the thumping music drown out her thoughts and slowly stripped to climb into the shower. The water steamed hot enough to turn her skin red, but couldn't stop her faint shaking. Darcy scrubbed the sweat from her workout and her fear from her body, then stood under the water for awhile. She tried to lose herself in the music and the water, but scenes from her past played behind her eyes. She eventually gave up and climbed out. She got into her comfiest clothes, wrapping them around her like armor. She had soft, worn purple cotton underthings. Then her favorite pair of most worn in jeans. they were starting to fray and get holes. Then an AC/DC shirt she had stolen out of the communal laundry. She was pretty sure it was either Tony's or Clint's. She then layered two sweaters, one a lumpy oatmeal colored grampa sweater and the other thick and dark green. She gave her hair a quick braid. Her head was already starting to pound and a ponytail would just make it worse. She and Steve had had a midday workout. She should probably head back down to the labs.

Jane was gone with Thor, but she was still riding herd on Banner and Stark. If she left the "science bros" alone too long they would explode something. When she got down to the labs, Tony was clearly entrenched in his work. He was literally elbow deep into mechanical parts and mumbling to himself. Banner had retreated to his private lab so she started with him. Of all her scientists, Banner was the easiest to work with. He was the most responsible about eating, sleeping, and bathing. He had once explained to her that it was one of the ways he maintained his "little green problem." If he took good care of himself, the Hulk had less reason to come out. Darcy privately thought this must mean that the Hulk was sort of like her. Unobtrusive until needed, but definitely protective and a caretaker.

This meant that Darcy helped out in a fairly normal way for Bruce. She transcribed his notes, helped keep the lab tidy and databases organized. Basically, she was a regular intern for Banner. He wasn't as high maintenance as Tony and Jane, but most interns were too frightened of his alter-ego to work with him. Darcy found his presence soothing. He exuded a sort of zen peace and control. She knew he had some pretty deep-seated issues with self-hatred and feeling like he didn't deserve to be loved. Darcy could empathize. Bruce seemed like he had gotten over the worst of those things through a caring and persistent friendship with Tony, much like the one Darcy had with Thor. She would never guess that inner turmoil from his outer demeanor though. Bruce was probably the most enlightened person she had ever met.

Darcy exchanged greetings with Bruce, but he was distracted with a project of his own. She left him to it and started typing up his latest pile of notes-a stack of scribbled on napkins, receipts, ripped out book pages with notes in the margin, and a few post-its. He had the others' bad habits, he just was kind enough to keep his genius scribbles in a tidy pile for her so she didn't have to scavenge the lab every day. She stared at the screen but kept zoning out. She also had to keep editing things she had already typed because her unsteady hands kept hammering out typos. She was blowing out a frustrated sigh when Bruce sat a mug of his favorite organic, loose leaf chamomile tea in front of her. "That obvious, huh?" Darcy asked. Bruce grinned at her, but said nothing while he sipped from his own mug. Darcy wasn't sure why, but tears started streaming down her face while she sipped at her own.

Bruce wasn't terribly alarmed, but rubbed her back in nice soothing circles while she shook with sobs. He led her over to his couch and got her settled in with her tea and sat beside her. She found herself crying into his sympathetic shoulder while he leaned his chin on the top of her head. Exhausted from all the emotion, Darcy must have fallen asleep there because the next thing she knew, she was screaming herself awake.

Darcy's eyes flew open and she bolted upright from where she'd been slouched. She shied back into the couch as she caught that someone was knelt in front of her. As her brain gradually came back online, she realized that the person in front of her was Bruce. She was grateful that it seemed he'd been kneeling to try to talk her awake instead of touching her in some way to do it. She also realized that his eyes were rather radioactively green instead of their usual soft brown. She took several startled, frightened breaths which were a stark counterpoint to his deliberately calm ones.

"Are you okay, Darcy?" Bruce asked her in a voice only slightly more gravelly than his usual one. She took a second to take stock. Her heartbeat was gradually slowing. She was also covered in a soft grey afghan that smelled comfortingly of oil and garage. She was at the heart of her new family's fortress.

"I'm okay," Darcy hesitated but she'd rather know how much she had given away, "Did I just scream, or did I say anything else in my sleep?"

The green in Banner's eyes darkened and he hesitated before replying, "You were begging." He looked furious. All of a sudden Darcy was very much not comfortable. She started trying to stand up.

"I'm so sorry you heard that, I will get out of your way. I'm sorry for distracting you," Darcy apologized. She could feel her cheeks turning bright red so she kept her head down.

Instead of getting out of her way, Bruce sighed and slumped onto the couch she had just vacated. "Darcy, please sit, you didn't do anything wrong and I'm not mad at you," Bruce told her. His eyes were still green but he sounded like Bruce again. "I'm always angry remember?" he joked.

Darcy meekly sat down but still couldn't meet his eyes. She had Tony's afghan bunched in her fists.

"You don't have to tell me about it if you don't want to. Just know that I really care for you. You've really helped turn this tower into a home instead of just a base of operations. The Hulk and I both appreciate what that means. Both of us were angry at the idea somebody has hurt you," Bruce told her. Darcy fidgeted more, she wasn't sure what to say. "Also, I'm no stranger to screaming nightmares," Bruce told her, and she finally looked up to share a sad grin with him.

"Want to have a movie night tonight? You can pick the movie? I'll even make homemade curry," Bruce asked. She was grateful for the change of subject.

"That would be great!" Darcy said.

At this, they separated so Bruce could start cooking and Darcy could change into movie night clothes. When she got to the common room, it was filled with the delicious spicy scents of the curry on the stove. Darcy had Doctor Hermione clutched under one arm, and she claimed Thor and Jane's couch. It was bigger than all the others to accommodate the Asguardian. While Darcy was stuffing herself on Bruce's delicious curry, the other members of the team who were in residence gradually filed in. Instead of sitting on his own seat like he usually did, Bruce was tucked up against her side. They chatted about Dr. Who and their various theories. She had already filed her movie choice with Jarvis beforehand, and everyone knew better than to argue once Darcy had let Jarvis know. He showed a clear preference and his retribution for questioning Darcy's choice could be vicious. Jarvis' pranks made Tony and Clint look like amateurs. Tony and Pepper took their usual seat. Steve was sitting at their feet. Natasha and Clint were not back from a day of training new recruits at Shield yet.

Darcy must have drifted off partway through the movie. She wasn't even sure what movie they were on as she was pretty sure they were on the second or third choice of the night judging by the light or lack thereof coming from the kitchen. She must have been crying in her sleep because her beloved unicorn was damp. Her toes were tucked under Bruce's thigh, and her head was pillowed on a familiar slim thigh. Natasha's fingers were running absently through her hair. Steve had an arm casually thrown behind his head, but he had his fingers laced with hers hidden between the pillow he was leaning against and Doc Herm's horned head. That was an angle impossible for anyone but a supersoldier not to complain about, but she knew he'd never say a word even if his arm was cramping. She was cozy and warm and had once again been tucked under Tony's afghan. She could also feel Clint's perpetually cold feet shoved behind her back where he was perching on the back of the couch. She could hear Bruce scolding Tony for his commentary on the movie, Tony's responses, and Pepper's soft laughter. Apparently Tony and Pepper were squeezed in next to Bruce.

 _We will be back soon, little lightning sister. Until then, know that Frigga has graced you with sweet dreams for the rest of the fortnight, as a sign of her favor on my decision to make you my sister._ That was new, she didn't realize Thor could reply to her prayers. But Darcy was beyond awed to be granted Frigga's blessing, and that her brother had somehow known that she needed him. 

Darcy closed her eyes and let the pain in her heart ebb. She was safe. She was loved. She was home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I had a lot of people asking for Darcy to give Bruce or Hulk some love. I feel like I read a lot of hurt/comfort on Bruce, so I wanted to write something where Bruce is the strong character doing the comforting. I mean, he is portrayed as philanthropic and helping people in his travels. Hope you guys liked my take on his personality!


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